Year 2000 in Bollywood - The films we saw!

By Amrit Panesar.

Year 2000, the dawn of the new millennium brought with it a year for movielovers to remember. With hit after hit, there’s been no need to venture further than your local cinema. And when it came to the best celluloid entertainment – Indian cinema took the lead. Throughout the year a Bollywood feature challenged that of Hollywood to crash straight into the coveted UK Box Office Top 10, just to remind the globe when it comes to putting on a show, we’ll take your breath away – EVERY TIME!

A new millennium dawned and the man of the moment was Kamal Haasan. Actor, Writer, Producer, Director, Legend and on the verge of winning the top award for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars with his much acclaimed experiment – ‘Hey Ram’. Ready and waiting to equal Mehboob Khan’s achievement with Mother India (which won Best Foreign Film) in the 50s. Here he takes the immortal words of the Mahatma Gandhi to inspire a film that tore the roots of traditional Bollywood melodramas to show that Indian audiences can also be hypnotised by innovation. One may argue that the status of Haasan single handidly marketed the success of the film. But to say such a thing would be dangerous, as we are well aware that the very critical Indian audiences will not automatically declare a movie a hit simply based on its star status.

Hey Ram’s biggest rival for our attention came in the shape of Yash Choppra’s ‘Mohabbatein’. All the hype before opening night billed a talent war between The Big B and Shah Rukh Khan. To put together two of the biggest stars of my generation and my father’s generation was thought provoking. How would they pull it off? Would they have to give each star his allocated screen time? Would they try and sell the film on the basis of the two big names or will they give the actors a platform to exceed? I came across a simpler scenario a few years ago when Michael Mann brought together Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in the film ‘Heat’. Whereas one can make a comparison between the two concepts there is no way you could provide the required time to conduct such a lengthy and time-consuming debate in a single article. So I’ll smoothly change direction to avoid causing a film lovers' argument and move onto the other films to grace our screen this year.

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of watching ‘While You Were Sleeping’ with Sandra Bullock, then ‘Har Dil Jo Pyar Kare Ga’ will most definitely tickle those taste buds. Made in the tried and tested tradition of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, this sloppy love story will cause a few tears to be shed. Force a number of impetuous laughs whilst telling a tale of love and friendship between the chief characters of Salaman Khan, Preeti Zinta and Rani Mukerji in a craft of artistic talent. It’s the old formula of boy meets girl. They fall head over heels in love (after a few hiccups) and then comes the confrontation. In order to live happily ever after they must first weather the storm. It won’t win any awards or nominations unlike the previous two but possess the capacity to redirect any boredom encountered on those cold winter days.

Early in the year Raj Babbar took a break from his personal life to play the ultimate patriot in ‘Shaheed Udham Singh’. Not a major hit but the status of such a figure in Indian history and his vision of revenge and liberation allows the film to be included in any critique. Another one of those films that challenge the institution set up by commercial cinema in India. No happy ending, no mindless violence and no Bollywood nonsense. Told in a consistent narration, which is all too lacking in contemporary cinema today. Give the film English subtitles and expect it to notch up a healthy box-office, along with critical acclaim.

As the year went on, we didn’t have to wait too long for India’s numero uno, Hrithik Roshan. He proved he wasn’t a one hit wonder with the release of ‘Fiza’. Another tale that touches on the dark side of Indian history, handled with such maturity for a first time director Khalid Mohammed. And a history which the less I expose the better. A story of lost and found was probably at times too sad, but full of honesty which many people have yet to come to terms with. Acting talents of all it’s stars Karisma Kapoor, Jaya Bachchan, Manoj Bajpai and of course Hrithik Roshan was top of every critic’s agenda as well as the uniqueness of the story.

Hot on the heels of ‘Fiza’ came Mr Roshan’s second excursion of the year – ‘Mission Kashmir’. A delicate subject to touch on, but trying to dwell on it for 3 hours was courageous. A subject matter that could possibly have caused uproar in the north of India. An array of stars glorified ‘Mission Kashmir’ as ‘a must see’. Declared a hit after its opening weekend in Mumbai the film went on to do even better overseas. The reason for the film’s success was the fact it has a subject, audiences in India and abroad can relate to - after all unlimited news coverage of the problems in Kashmir have become the norm. Giving the film their years of experience are Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff – together for the first time after the success of ‘Khalnayak’.

Throughout the year many films bought glamour back to the screens, and none more than ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’. Shah Rukh Khan & Juhi Chawla star in their own film. Made by their production company ‘Dreamz Unlimited’, the film is a true synopsis of the media’s fascination with over exaggerated journalism. The cinematography is exceptional, the acting is over the top and the title song told a few home truths. Months on and I still find the tedious humming of the song follows me everywhere. But like any patriot would say phir bhi dil hai Hindustani. Another one of those feel good movies, with a touch of western influence.

Comedies this year, were far from funny. Maybe the director forgot that making an audience laugh would be a target accomplished. Or in a moment's confusion it simply slipped their mind. Whatever the case it resulted in a poor list of titles under that particular classification. But one title that did exhibit any form of humour was the unsuspected hit, ‘Hera Pheri’. Starring two of the fallen stars of Bollywood - Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty, this is an attempt at a dream that everyone has in this day and age of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ or if your prefer ‘Kaun Bunega Crorepati?’ The film cannot support any artistic guile, award winning performances or cinematic achievements but for those who have seen the film it has the support of the Indian public hence its box-office success.

Moving on and we stay with the two protagonists from ‘Hera Pheri’ as they performed some of their best work in ‘Dhadkan’. Also starring Shilpa Shetty this is a love triangle with a twist. Loosely based on ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ the film demonstrates a very sensitively handled script and direction. The concept is a run of the mill as 8 out of 10 Bollywood features are based around three main characters inevitably ending in a love triangle. The soundtrack had sold the movie to the potential audience long before the film was released – making it an all round hit. Akshay and Sunil back together for another fine performance.

And finely no end of year appraisal can be complete without mentioning the acting debut of Mr Bachchan’s offspring - Abhishek Bachchan. ‘Refugee’ introduced Bachchan Junior to the anticipating eyes of the world. Good in parts and mediocre in others and that’s just Abhishek’s acting. ‘Refugee’, a venture by J. P. Dutta, as he continued from where he left off with ‘Border’. The film was fairly attractive, with its wide-angle shots of the desert in all its splendour and a platform to show the limited talents of Abhishek . One of the most hyped movies of the year, it still failed to impress at the box-office. But here cinema history had been made – Abhishek Bachchan’s first venture into the unstable world of acting. Take note, as time goes by, ‘what was Abhishek’s first film? will become a question asked in abundance in newspaper quizzes and various shows.

The above list is not a top ten or an accolade to the mentioned. These are films that mixed convention with innovation. Year 2000 gave its cinema audiences something new, something old and definitely something borrowed. Like a new bride, the façade was extravagant. And for the reception Bollywood brought diversity to the screen. But then again it’s been a long time since we, as an audience have witnessed consecutive hits, that challenged our intelligence and not insulted our existence. Here’s thanking in anticipation for a similar (or a better) year in 2001. Hats off to the ever growing and evolving films from Bollywood!